Work

Reply to Piperno et al.: It is too soon to argue for localized, short-term human impacts in interfluvial Amazonia

Year: 2017

Type: letter

Abstract: We welcome the debate opened by Piperno et al. (1) in response to our recent article (2), and thank the editors of PNAS for the opportunity to reply. Although acknowledging that we detected localized human impacts in our study area, Piperno et al. (1) downplay the increases in palms observed at the geoglyph sites, stating it’s “unclear” whether humans actively managed the forest in these locations. Independent of one’s opinion about intentionality, we argue that the rapid decline of palms after geoglyph abandonment suggests that their previously high levels were because of much more regular, longer-term human influences than Piperno et al. suggest. We also reemphasize that … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jenny.g.watling{at}gmail.com. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1705697114